Bank of Montreal Can Raises Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,016 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Assurant were worth $9,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Assurant by 509.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $227.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.